My 2006 SLK55 AMG has a lease with US Bank that is ending this month. They sent an inspector out to check the condition of the car to make sure I hadn't trashed it. The car is in near mint condition, the same that I got it in 4 years ago. However, being the sticklers that they are, there are two items of note they want to charge me for:

1. Missing Owners Manual - $200.00

The car never came with an owners manual, and the dealership said they'd send me one. I never really bothered to follow up with it because I found the PDF version of it on mbusa.com. Also considering MB roadside assistance is free, I never figured I'd really need it. They won't accept the fact that the car didn't come with one, and want a letter from the dealership stating it didn't come with one. The problem is that the dealership I bought it from, Luxury Motors O'Hare (Chicago) is out of business. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to with this?

2. Mismatched Tires - $574.00

I got a flat in of of my rear tires at one time, and the dealership patched it up for me. They suggested that I change both rear tires out, but they didn't have a set in stock. Instead they called Just Tires for me, which had them in stock, and sent me over there with the the name of the exact tires that I should purchase. The front two tires are a matched set from BF Goodrich, while the ones I replaced on the back are a matched set from Dunlop. Specifically they are:

Front - BF Goodrich 225/40R18 G-Force Sport
Rear - Dunlop 255/35ZR18 94Y SP Sport Maxx

I tried explaining to the bank that even though the sizes of the tires are the same (18), the front and the back technically aren't the same, because they have different ratings. I checked the sticker on the inside of my driver's side door and confirmed this.

So the question is, are these the correct tires for the car, and are they supposed to be mismatched? Am I completely screwed on this and going to have to pay another $600 because I replaced the tires? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

Read your lease agreement. It matters NOT what is said, but what's in writing. If the agreement give them that latitude, your options are to pay or tell them no and see what they say they'll do. Then you can decide if you want to fight or write a check.

 

Print the PDF of the manual, and buy the 4 cheapest tyres you can find in the correct size.

 

Just another bank trying to rip-off the public.He may have a point on the owners manual - I would try e-bay.The tire argument wouldn't work with me.I would tell them its got 4 good tires and HE can change them out at his cost if he isn't happy.

 

MB parts told me they can get me the manual for $35, and I can get a new set of Dunlops for the front for about $270 installed. Either way I can afford it, but it sucks just rolling over and getting ****ed by the bank.

I figure that if I tell them to go stick it, at a minimum they'll send me the bill and to collections, which will hurt my credit rating, and at a maximum take me to court which will cost much more than $600 to defend.

 

This is not a bank ripping off the public. The car has no owners manual. You say it did not come with one. Its your word vs theirs. Now that the dealership is no more, you have nothing to fall back on. You should have pursued getting the manual while the dealership was still open. As for the tires, in your lease it says the vehicle must be returned with four matching tires with a certain treadlife left on them. Next time read things before you sign them.

 

Size or manufacturer ?

 

If they are not from the same manufacturer than they are not really matching, now are they?

 

It saves the rest of us from having to buy a used car with no books, one key and mismatched tires. I cant even believe you put mismatched tires on a AMG. That is a total Kia move.

 

Agreed.

 

Your rear tires are the wrong size: rear 255/35/18, should be 245/35/18. The fact that they're all 18", as you posted, means nothing. I'd rather replace the rears then fronts.

 

Upping 1 to 2 sizes wider tire in the rear will not degraded performance but gains. The problems is not the sizes of the tire that the bank having problem with. It the mis-matched brand front (BF Goodrich) and rear (Dunlop). Who does that on a high performance cars? It unsafe specially in the rain if the tires rating spec., grove design...etc are different front and rear. Since Dunlop are OEM tires on some of Mercedes models. You want to stick with what Mercedes recommend so the bank don't harsle you.

 

Increasing tire width will degrade the performance if not matched with wheel width, resulting in a smaller (not larger) contact patch. Also, change in circumference will alter the speedometer reading, something any bank will care about great deal.

 

I cant belive he put BFG's on a AMG.. Dont you put those on 4 wheelers

 

This is an on going problem with the so-called "independent" inspectors and the (f)leasing companies. The inspector just wants to gouge you for an extra payment. More often than not he probably buys the manuals from the salesmen that should have given it to you for $10 and wants to sell it to you for $200. No dealer "loses" the manuals.

The bank is not going to fit new tires for $ 600 to sell the car at auction. No one at the auction is going to look if the car has Michelins or Pep Boy's Cornells on it. They will put the money in their pocket, and continue to use shysters to do their inspections.

I would take them to small claims court for failure to provide the manual in the first place, and let them know that you will not accept an unfair business practice over the tires. Many Mercedes cars have staggered setups, and the front and rear tires are a different size by design. Matched does not mean the four tires must be from the same maker, it means they must match the size specified by the manufacturer. If you have met that test, tell the bank you are done.

 

lux motors o'hare closed ?
i knew joe abbas sold it, but haven't been there for a while....

 

Sold it......LOL....if that's what you call it. The feds shut them down over a year ago, two of his homes(condo in chicago and condo in miami) were forclosed on about a year ago. In 2009 he owed over $100k to DuPage county for several of the Downers Grove properties and I heard he's got a number of banks after him as well as several law suits and heard he was facing jail time. Google joe abbas luxury motors chicago if you want some good reading. The only dealership still open is the Bentley in Downers and Gold Coast under different owners (Perillo I think), all the "used lots" were closed or seized.

 

Buy a set of used tire on Ebay that have 4/32 of tread on them, correct size, and have a local garage mount them. Buy an owners manual on Ebay. turn it in.

 

Esp, traction control and antilock brakes are all designed to work with tires that have the same tread pattern. It can be argued that this is a safety concern.

 

wow, thx for the update jim....

 

I have leased from gmac for our suv, and my sister had leased through US Bank for the exact same vehicle at the same time frame as ours. US Bank nickel and dimed my sister and end of lease while Gmac was much more lenient. Example GMAC has a templet for dings, anything smaller than a quarter will pass free of charge, while US Bank charged for the most minute of dings, another example was Gmac let us slide with 75% tire tread left at return and US Bank charged her new tires and she had way more tread than ours at return. MY niece also had a Volvo leased from them and they nickel and dimed her too, Long story I will never lease from US BANK.